Visa to collaborate with Planet Payment

SaabiraChaudhuri

Visa Inc.
V, -1.12%
said it is working with payment processing firm Planet Payment Inc.
PLPM, +0.27%
to support ATM and point of sale acceptance for its cards in additional developing markets after the success of a recent collaboration in Myanmar.

Visa in November signed licensing agreements with three banks in Myanmar for its cards to be accepted for ATM and point-of-sale transactions, the latest sign of rising interest in the once-reclusive, but recently red hot, Southeast Asian nation.

"As Myanmar continues its journey toward full international reintegration, there will be more opportunities to extend the reach and scope of electronic payments in the market," Visa Country Manager for Myanmar and Thailand, Somboon Krobteeranon said. "We look forward to working with the government, central bank, financial institutions and merchant community to grow electronic payments in the country," added Mr. Krobteeranon.

Visa's service now connects the Myanmar banks' ATMs and POS machines to Visa managed services. The company noted that the move also addresses the complexities of cross border processing acquiring services. By joining the Visa network, the banks agree to adopt Visa's global security standards for electronic payment. Visa said it has been working with Planet Payment core technology and operating systems.

Visa, which is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, has about 1.9 million ATMs, and operates in 200 countries and territories.

Myanmar has been attracting interest from a slew of large corporations lately--ranging from PepsiCo Inc. (PEP) to General Electric Co. (GE) -- as companies are abuzz over what may be one of the world's last great, but hardly stable, business frontiers. Starting in 2011, a new, nominally civilian government took power in Myanmar and embarked on a broad set of political and financial reforms that has convinced U.S. and European powers to drop most economic sanctions.

The result has been one of the biggest emerging market gold rushes since Vietnam and Russia opened up to more investment in the 1990s. For some companies, only Cuba and North Korea remain. Business leaders have said the magnitude of the Myanmar opportunity is hard to describe. The population is larger than South Korea and South Africa, and almost triple that of Australia.

Visa has been looking to other developing nations as well, in 2011 unveiling a partnership with the government of Rwanda to expand its business in the country. It has partnerships with major hotels and tour operators across sub-Saharan Africa and offices in Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria.

Shares of Visa closed Thursday at $160.66 and were inactive premarket. The stock has risen 37% in the past 12 months.

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